Inserter systems are typically used by organizations such as banks, insurance companies and utility companies for producing a large volume of specific mailings where the contents of each mail item are individualized to a particular addressee. Also, other organizations, such as direct mailers, use inserters for producing a large volume of generic mailings where the contents of each mail item are substantially identical for each addressee. Examples of such inserter systems are the 8 series, 9 series, and APS™ inserter systems available from Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn.
In many respects, the typical inserter system resembles a manufacturing assembly line. Sheets and other raw materials (other sheets, enclosures, and envelopes) enter the inserter system as inputs. Then, a plurality of different modules or workstations in the inserter system work cooperatively to process the sheets until a finished mail piece is produced. The exact configuration of each inserter system depends upon the needs of each particular customer or installation.
Currently materials are received from multiple sources for creation of mailpieces. A first source is a continuous web of printed material that comprises the individualized content, such as a statement, or bill. A second source of material may be inserts, such as advertisements or special offers, that are fed from separate feeders to be joined with the statement papers. A third source is business reply envelopes (BRE's) to be included with the statement. A fourth source is the stack of envelopes that comprise the outer package into which the collated individualized statement, inserts, and BRE are to be inserted. Each of these sources is introduced to the inserter machine at a different location.
A workflow for creating mail pieces requires that the proper physical material sources be obtained and input into the conventional inserter machine. A delay might occur if proper inserts or envelopes were not available to be used for a given mail run. Also, operator labor is required in order to maintain the appropriate stacks of envelopes and inserts that are to be included with the mail run. Labor and expense are also required for ordering, warehousing, and moving materials to the inserter system.
At an input end of the inserter system, the continuous web must be separated into individual document pages. This separation is typically carried out by a web cutter that cuts the continuous web into individual document pages. In a typical web cutter, a continuous web of material with sprocket holes on both side of the web is fed from a fanfold stack from web feeder into the web cutter. The web cutter has a tractor with pins or a pair of moving belts with sprockets to move the web toward a guillotine cutting module for cutting the web cross-wise into separate sheets. Perforations are provided on each side of the web so that the sprocket hole sections of the web can be removed from the sheets prior to moving the cut sheets to other components of the mailing inserting system. Downstream of the web cutter, a right angle turn may be used to reorient the documents, and/or to meet the inserter user's floor space requirements.
The separated documents must subsequently be grouped into collations corresponding to the multi-page documents to be included in individual mail pieces. This gathering of related document pages occurs in the accumulator module where individual pages are stacked on top of one another. The control system for the inserter senses markings on the individual pages to determine what pages are to be collated together in the accumulator module.
Downstream of the accumulator, a folder typically folds the accumulation of documents, so that they will fit in the desired envelopes. To allow the same inserter system to be used with different sized mailings, the folder can typically be adjusted to make different sized folds on different sized paper. As a result, an inserter system must be capable of handling different lengths of accumulated and folded documents. Downstream of the folder, a buffer transport transports and stores accumulated and folded documents in series in preparation for transferring the documents to the synchronous inserter chassis.
Insert feeders then add the additional insert documents, such as advertisements or special offers, to the collations. Business return envelopes (BRE's), if applicable may also be fed from a separate envelope feeder to become part of the collation. The completed collations are then transported on the conveyor to an insertion station where they are automatically stuffed into envelopes provided from yet another envelope feeder. After being stuffed with the collations, the envelopes are removed from the insertion station for further processing. Such further processing may include automated closing and sealing the envelope flap, weighing the envelope, applying postage to the envelope, and finally sorting and stacking the envelopes.